Treacherous Toys (22 page)

It made sense. I certainly didn’t want to believe that Jolly was responsible for the attacks on Harry or Chris’s murder—Christine either. Taking a job in the castle might give me a chance to prove their innocence.

“Lady Jessie.” Gus nodded briefly in respect and didn’t try to pinch my butt. That was a novelty. “How goes it?”

“Not too bad. Looking for a job.”

“The Christmas gig let you down, huh? I might know someone in the castle who could use an extra hand.”

“Thanks. Has Harry come back from the hospital yet?”

“Not yet.” He pointed toward the entrance. “But one of Livy’s ladies finally couldn’t take it anymore. Livy’s hysteria after Harry was stabbed must have put her over the edge. She ran out of here screaming this morning and hasn’t come back again.”

“Sounds like the job for me.” I smiled but kept a safe distance between us. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure. Tell Chase I said hello when you see him.”

“I will.”

I passed Detective Almond, who was flanked by two officers, as I was entering the castle. He was on his way out. He nodded but didn’t speak. I’d seen thunderclouds less angry looking than him.

Of course there had to be an investigation. Harry had been attacked. Did the police have any suspects? No doubt Detective Almond would meet with Chase before he left the Village. Chase might have some news to share when I met him later for lunch.

I knew Chase wouldn’t give Jolly up to the police. But what if someone had seen him wandering around, covered in blood?

I walked quickly to Livy’s chamber and rapped hard on the door. The sooner I got to work, the sooner I might have some answers.

“O
h, Lady Jessie, we would be so happy to have you here with us during the last of our confinement.” Livy was teary eyed as she absently rubbed her baby bump. “There is so much going on right now. It will be wonderful to have a true confidant at my side.”

I curtsied, as was appropriate. “It will be my honor to serve you, Your Majesty. Have you heard anything of the king as yet?”

“No. And I am beginning to get worried. They said he would be home this morning. Could you ask someone—perhaps the bailiff—if there is news?”

I was more than happy to go along with that request since I had some questions of my own to ask the good bailiff. But first, I wondered if I could get the scoop on what had happened to Harry.

Livy blew her nose on an elegant lace hankie when I asked her about the incident. “I don’t know. He was in his
chambers at the time. It seems someone stabbed him in the back upon entering the room. The doctor has told us that the wound, though painful, did little damage. I am only happy to have my darling lord still with me.”

“He didn’t see anything unusual?”

“You mean the young man so many workers have seen in the castle the last few days? I know the story about such a man pushing the king down the stairs. But I tell you, Lady Jessie, that this young man means no harm to anyone. He is not the person who attacked your king.”

“You mean you know who it is?” I braced for something I might not want to hear. But if Livy knew Jolly was walking around in here, why didn’t she suspect him?

“I have seen him myself at times, when the night is long and the shadows lengthen in the hallway.”

What the—?

She smiled and clutched her hankie to her ample bosom. “He is the ghost of a young soldier who died here before the Village came. He walks these lonely halls, looking for his lost love.”

I glanced at Lady Barbara, who stood behind the sofa. She shrugged and rolled her eyes.

Both she and Lady Jane were always appropriate, always well dressed. Their hair was covered by scarves that matched their gowns—usually matching as well. They rarely spoke out of turn or expressed dismay at the things they saw in their service to Livy.

I was continually amazed that both of them were still with her. They had to be the most tolerant women in the world!

Apparently Barbara hadn’t seen the ghost the queen was describing. That didn’t relieve my fear that the alleged ghost could be Jolly.

“Your Majesty, I don’t believe a ghost injured the king either. But someone has tried to harm him twice, the last time most grievously. Did you or the king see anything else out of the ordinary?”

“No. We have the police to look into these things.” She smiled and pushed herself up and off the sofa, no mean feat. “I do believe you were about to talk with the bailiff about the king, Lady Jessie. Hurry back when you have answers for us.”

Livy was acting weirder than usual. I thought I might as well blame it on her pregnancy. I didn’t want to think what kind of mother she would be once the baby arrived. Maybe the poor little thing would have a very competent nanny.

I nodded and started to leave her chamber. It had been easier than I’d expected to join Livy’s staff. With another lady-in-waiting quitting just before I’d arrived—usually there were four in attendance—it had been a snap. I knew the woman’s departure was because of Livy’s tantrums, not to mention her quick mood swings. But I could ignore all of it to ensure my access to the castle.

Before I could leave the room and ask Chase anything, Edgar burst in, demanding to know why the children weren’t making toys at the workshop.

Livy’s face paled, and she sat back on the sofa again. “I’m not sure, my lord. I am not privy to such information.”

“You can’t just hang me out to dry on this,” he said accusingly. “People want to see those kids, for whatever reason. It’s part of the show. Part of what you promised me. I suggest you take care of it right away.”

I put myself, all six feet of me in a gown at least three feet wide, between him and Livy. It was that feeling of protection again. Not sure what was wrong with me. I saw recognition in his eyes when I faced him down. “Mayhap my
lord should find a way to be more entertaining on his own instead of depending on young children. These children have been through enough. They may not even be here by the end of the Village day.”

“You!” His face turned a mottled shade of red, and his hands clenched in fists as he stared at me. “What are you doing here? Olivia, I must insist that you get rid of this woman. Or—”

“Or what?” I stood as close to him as I could given the depth of my skirt. “My Lord Gaskin makes a bad habit out of bullying Village women. Mayhap a turn in the stocks might help his attitude.”

“In
what
?” He began shouting for real. “You
dare
suggest that?”

“Please calm yourself, Edgar,” Livy entreated. “And keep your voice down.”

“Why?” He strutted through the room, then returned to his spot before the door. “You mean you don’t want everyone to know that we had an affair, Your Majesty? If that’s the case, and you still want to keep this from your husband, get rid of this woman now.”

I glared at Edgar, daring him to make another move toward Livy. I saw the door to the chamber open behind him as he shouted his dirty little secret. I heard Livy begin sobbing as we both saw Harry, held erect by two of his courtiers, come to stand in the doorway.

At least Edgar’s hold on Livy was over. With the secret out, he had nothing left to threaten her with.

Edgar finally calmed down enough to notice that we were all looking at something behind him. “King Harold,” he said in a much lower voice as he turned.

Harry didn’t say anything. He just stood there, glowering at Edgar.

Edgar grabbed his chest and made a few choking sounds, then crashed sideways to the heavily carpeted floor.

No one moved for a brief instant. Then I grabbed the two-way radio Livy always kept on her side table and called for help. Chase responded, and I told him what had happened.

Livy had fainted and was being attended by her stalwart ladies, Barbara and Jane. How those two managed to stay here and not run out screaming as their coworker had done was beyond me sometimes.

Harry, still not saying a word, nodded to his gentlemen, and they escorted him from the room.

As much as I disliked Edgar, I crushed my gown so I could get on the floor beside him. I flipped him over and began CPR. He had no pulse. His lips were faintly blue and cold to the touch. A few of the household staff took turns relieving me, but it was too late.

Edgar was pronounced dead at the castle when the paramedics arrived a short time later. Chase got there, accompanied by Detective Almond and his officers.

“What a surprise,” Detective Almond said when he saw me. “If I ever need to know where the trouble is, I can always look for you. You’re usually in the thick of things, aren’t you?”

I didn’t bother responding to that, but I did accept Chase’s help getting to my feet. You can crush those skirts, but don’t try to get up in them—too stiff and thick. No wonder women spent so much time doing needlepoint and had to ride sidesaddle.

“Does she need an ambulance?” Detective Almond asked, nodding at Livy.

“I don’t think so. She fainted,” I answered. “A paramedic is checking her out.”

“So what happened this time?” he asked me, glancing at Edgar as they put him on the stretcher.

“I think he had a heart attack.” I shrugged, wishing someone else would speak up. I certainly wasn’t an authority on the subject. “I don’t know for sure. One minute he was yelling at us—the next he was on the floor. It happened really quickly.”

The last paramedic agreed with my diagnosis before he left the room.

“What were all of you arguing about before the man fell over?” Detective Almond glanced at the other ladies in the room. They didn’t speak.

I looked over at Livy, who was still out of it on the sofa. No help there. My protective instincts took over again. “I think Mr. Gaskin was upset about Christine’s kids not working today. He wanted them to make toys for the workshop tour that Father Christmas is supposed to do every hour or so.”

“And that’s why he was dressed that way,” Detective Almond said. “He thought she could fix that? Is she head of the Christmas show or something?”

I glanced at Chase. He nodded. We both knew I might as well tell him the whole story. “He was blackmailing the queen. They’d had an affair, about a year ago, I think. He threatened her if she didn’t invite him to the Village to play Father Christmas even though Chris and Christine were already here.”

Almond frowned. “This is the man you suspected of killing Mr. Christmas, right?”

“I’m afraid so.” I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by the recent event.

“Why so glum? He’s out of the way now.”

“Because now I can’t get him to confess and we’ll never
know if he killed Chris. Christine—or some other innocent person—will be blamed for it. Edgar gets away free.”

“Not exactly free,” he reminded me. “He won’t threaten anyone else again. Do you think he could be the one who stabbed the king last night, too? Might as well pin as much as we can on him since he’s gone.”

I realized he was making fun of me. I didn’t return his banter. Maybe he didn’t consider Edgar a suspect in Chris’s death, but I did. I
had
anyway.

While everyone else in the room was being questioned by Detective Almond and his officers, Chase escorted me out into the hall. Maids, kitchen workers, and a few jesters were out there rehashing everything that had just happened. Sir Reginald, Lord Dunstable, and Esmeralda stood nearby, too. Everyone was curious. Most of them thought Livy had killed Edgar.

“No jury would have convicted her either,” Esmeralda said. “The man was a curse upon this castle. He deserved to die.”

At first everyone looked surprised at her words, but seconds later they started agreeing with her. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Edgar.

“But what will Adventure Land do without a Father Christmas for the season?” Sir Reginald asked. “I doubt we can get another one this late in the year.”

“Especially since two of them have died here,” a chubby chambermaid added.

“They’ll think of something,” Chase assured them. “Someone will turn up.”

Most of the action was over, and people started moving off to wherever they should have been. I was a little worried, despite Chase’s words, that the Village would have to
shut down the holiday event. No doubt that would mean a large dip in profits. No one likes that.

“What do we do now?” I asked Chase.

“I’m thinking about questioning Harry about the attack. Want to come with me?”

Of course I wanted to. I just wasn’t sure if Harry would say anything after our previous conversation. I didn’t want to hamper the investigation.

“Maybe I’ll just hang around out here. Harry might be more willing to talk to you alone—man to man—that kind of stuff.”

“All right. I’ll meet you here in a half hour or so. What were you doing with Livy anyway—questioning her?”

There wasn’t really time to explain. “I’ll tell you over coffee when you get done.”

He kissed me and walked toward Harry’s chambers.

I thought about Harry’s first accident and went to the stairs where he’d fallen. It was dark on that side of the hall. Someone needed to install more lighting over here. I went slowly down the faux stone steps, amazed that Harry had only injured his arm in the fall.